Home Improvement Investments that Make Cents
The Washington Post published an article entitled Projects that Pay that provides recommendations on home improvement projects that give the most bang for your buck at the $1,000, $10,000, and $20,000 thresholds.
$1,000
- Painting- On a per Dollar basis, painting is perhaps the most potent small-scale home improvement project. If you do it yourself, an average sized room will cost less than $100.
- Minor landscaping projects- The article suggests that you address a neglected lawn, add trees, or cut back overgrown shrubs. Since your landscaping shapes a potential buyer's first impression of your home, the money will be well spent.
$10,000
- Create an outdoor living space- Build a deck or patio. If you already have a deck or patio, why not add an outdoor kitchen or a fireplace?
- Overhaul a powder room or small bathroom- Change out the vanity, mirrors, and toilet. Add marble or granite.
- Upgrade lighting- Add recessed lighting or upgrade the electrical panels and circuits so that they can handle more power. The article mentions that not a lot of thought goes into many builder-built houses, making homeowner customization necessary to achieve desired results.
- Create Parking- This may not be applicable, but if you have the ability to create a parking space on your property, why not do it? Parking is extremely valuable.
$20,000
- Make significant changes to the kitchen- A $20,000 budget may not allow for a complete kitchen remodel, but you can make significant improvements such as adding granite counter tops, cabinets, or new floors.
- Renovate the master bathroom- You can completely renovate the master bathroom.
- Upgrade doors and windows- Though not as glamorous as the previous items on the list, the Post article mentions the importance of quality windows and doors. A window upgrade could start to pay for itself in energy savings.
- Major landscaping overhaul- For $20,000, you can afford some significant landscape improvements such as a water feature, a larger deck or patio, or more plants and trees.
According to CalculatedRisk, home improvement investments are holding up fairly well despite the recession. The blog looked at indicators published by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis as part of the release of the 2008 Q2 GDP data. Their conclusion- so far, home improvement investments are holding up better during this housing slump than in the slumps of the early 1980's and early 1990's.
Jon
How to Replace a Toilet Tank Fill Valve
I don't know whether my builder used really cheap fill valves or if they just go bad quickly, but this is the second time I've replaced one and the house is only three years old. How do you know if the fill valve is not working properly? Well, when you flush the toilet, the water sound like it is filling the tank for a very long time. If you remove the top of the tank, however, you will see that the tank is fill and the water is pouring into the overflow pipe. The bulb that is supposed to float to the top and shut off the water isn't doing its job. Luckily, a replacement part costs less than ten dollars and the procedure is pretty simple.
First, shut off the water supply to the toilet tank. Then, flush the toilet and let as much of the water drain from the tank as possible. Use a sponge to remove the remaining water.
Next, unscrew the two nuts underneath the toilet tank. These nuts secure the water supply to the fill valve and the fill valve to the tank. Remove the old fill valve (and anything that connects to it, such as the small water supply tube).
Then, insert the new fill valve and secure using the new washers and bolts that came with it. As always, follow the specific instructions that came with the product. My instructions told me not to use any plumber's putty and to hand tighten the nuts.
Sometimes home repair gets in the way of home improvement. Good luck!
Jon
Choosing a Dimmer
Note: For instructions on how to properly wire a light dimmer, please refer to the article on wiring a light switch.
Another easy home improvement project is to swap out a regular light switch for a dimmer. Most dimmers are relatively inexpensive and will eventually pay for themselves in energy savings. Not to mention, there are times when you want a dimly-lit room (e.g. while you are watching television).
There are a few characteristics to consider when choosing a dimmer. First, determine if you need a two-way or a three-way switch. Make sure the dimmer you purchase matches your needs. Next, do you want separate controls for on/off and dimming? Many dimmers have separate controls for on/off and dimming. This allows you to keep your dimmer at the same setting at all times. When you turn the light on, it will be set at the same level as when you last turned it off.
Also determine if you need a heavy duty dimmer. Let me give you an example. A couple of years ago, I bought a dimmer that was rated to handle up to 600 Watts. I wanted it to control a chandelier that had nine 60 Watt bulbs. A total of 540 Watts- no problem, right? Wrong. Even though it seemed to function properly, it made a constant humming noise whenever the lights were dimmed and the dimmer was hot to the touch. So I exchanged it for a dimmer that was rated for 1000 Watts. That made all the difference in the world. It looked identical and functioned exactly the same, but didn't hum and was not warm to the touch.
Finally, decide on the bells and whistles. I love my remote control dimmers, but they cost twice as much as my regular dimmers. Do you want 8 steps of dimming or 16? Do you want a tiny little light on your dimmer so that you can find the switch in a dark room? Those are some things to think about.
Jon
The Basic Toolkit: Selecting a Wrench
A wrench is another tool that is used often enough to be included in your toolkit. Whether it be a plumbing project or furniture assembly, the wrench is a key player.
I remember the good old adjustable crescent wrench. They were everywhere when I was growing up. I think we had three of four different sized crescent wrenches. Fast forward to the present. I don't even own a crescent wrench. I have other tools in my toolkit that perform the function of a crescent wrench and have added versatility.
In my post on choosing the right pliers, I mention that I carry tongue and groove pliers and locking pliers in my toolkit. I think that those are pretty capable alternatives to the crescent wrench.
More importantly, I also carry a socket wrench set in my toolkit. This set is comes in handy for a variety of home improvement projects. I can even use it to remove the lug nuts on my car. In fact, the only time you can't use the socket wrench is if the nut is larger than your largest socket of if the screw is so long that the socket will not reach the nut. In these cases, the tongue and groove pliers work like a charm.
So there you have it, a socket wrench set used in conjunction with your pliers will satisfy 99% of your home improvement needs.
Jon
The Basic Toolkit: The Best Screwdriver
It seems as though I use a screwdriver for every home improvement project. Even when I paint, I use a screwdriver to remove the outlet covers. But, what is the best screwdriver to include in a basic toolkit?
Well, the truth is that there is no best screwdriver. In fact, I think you should carry a couple different ones. My most used screwdriver is one with interchangeable bits. The set includes about 30 different bits and 20 small sockets. A good set of bits will have different sizes of Phillips heads, flat heads, and hex heads (like Allen wrenches). You should be able to purchase the entire set for less than $20.
In addition to the screwdriver set described above, I carry two (different sized) regular flathead screwdrivers. I mostly use these for prying and scraping applications. At one point, I thought about removing these screwdrivers from my basic toolkit- but then I realized how often I actually use them.
Finally, you may want to consider a cordless power screwdriver if you do lots of screwing and unscrewing.
My cordless screwdriver of choice is a very compact Skil 3.6V Lithium-Ion Cordless Screwdriver. It fits in your pocket, is very light, and has impressive battery life. The kit also includes a couple dozen screwdriver bits. It also includes a drill bit, but I have not used this model for drilling and cannot comment on this capability.
Jon
